Shapur II
"King of kings of Iran and Aniran"[1]
Reign	309–379
Born	309[2]
Birthplace	possibly Firuzabad
Died	379
Place of death	Bishapur
Predecessor	Hormizd II
Successor	Ardashir II
Royal House	Sasan
Father	Hormizd II
Religious beliefs	Zoroastrian

Shapur II the Great was the ninth King of the Persian Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379 and son of Hormizd II.^[3] During his long reign, the Sassanid Empire saw its first golden era since the reign of Shapur I (241–272). His name is sometimes given in English as "Shahpour" or "Sapor".^[4]

Early childhood[link]

When King Hormizd II (302–309) died, Persian nobles killed his eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (Hormizd, who afterwards escaped to the Roman Empire).^[5] The throne was reserved for the unborn child of one of the wives of Hormizd II. It is said that Shapur II may have been the only king in history to be crowned in utero: the crown was placed upon his mother's belly. This child, named Shapur, was therefore born king; the government was conducted by his mother and the magnates.

Conquests[link]

Dark green: the Sassanid empire; Medium green: contested territory; Light green: temporarily occupied in the seventh century during war with the Byzantine Empire, three hundred years after Shapur's reign.

During the early years of the reign of Shapur, Arabs crossed the Persian Gulf from Bahrain to "Ardashir-Khora" of Pars and raided the interior. In retaliation, Shapur led an expedition through Bahrain, defeated the combined forces of the Arab tribes of "Taghlib", "Bakr bin Wael", and "Abd Al-Qays" and advanced temporarily into Yamama in central Najd. He resettled these tribes in Kerman and Hormizd-Ardashir. Arabs named him, as "Shabur Dhul-aktāf" or "Zol 'Aktāf" that means "The owner of the shoulders" after this battle.^[6]

In 337, just before the death of Constantine I (324–337), Shapur II, probably provoked by religious differences, broke the peace concluded in 297 between Narseh (293–302) and Emperor Diocletian (284–305), which had been observed for forty years. This was the beginning of two long drawn-out wars (337–350 and 358-363) which were inadequately recorded. After crushing a rebellion in the south, Shapur II invaded Roman Mesopotamia and recaptured Armenia. Apparently 9 major battles were fought. The most renowned was the inconclusive Battle of Singara (Sinjar, in Iraq) in which the Roman emperor Constantius II was at first successful, capturing the Persian camp, only to be driven out by a surprise night attack after Shapur had rallied his troops (344-or 348?). Gibbon asserts that Shapur II invariably defeated Constantius, but there is reason to believe that the honours were fairly evenly shared between the two capable commanders. (Since Singara was on the Persian side of the Mesopotamian frontier, this alone may suggest that the Romans had not seriously lost ground in the war up to that time.) The most notable feature of this war was the consistently successful defence of the Roman fortress of Nisibis in Mesopotamia. Shapur besieged the fortress three times (337, 344? and 349) and was repulsed each time by Roman general Lucilianus.

Silver plate showing Shapur II hunting a deer whilst riding a stag

Although often victorious in battles, Shapur II had made scarcely any progress. At the same time he was attacked in the east by Scythian Massagetae and other Central Asian tribes. He had to break off the war with the Romans and arrange a hasty truce in order to pay attention to the east (350). Most able and persistent of Shapur's opponents in the north east was Grumbates, ruler of the Xionites. After a prolonged struggle (353–358) they were forced to conclude a peace, and Grumbates agreed to enlist his light cavalrymen into the Persian army and accompany Shapur II in renewed war against the Romans.

In 358 Shapur II was ready for his second series of wars against Rome, which met with much more success. In 359, Shapur II invaded southern Armenia, but was held up by the valiant Roman defence of the fortress of Amida (Diyarbekir, in Turkey) which finally surrendered in 359 after a seventy-three day siege in which the Persian army suffered great losses. The delay forced Shapur to halt operations for the winter. Early the following spring he continued his operations against the Roman fortresses, capturing Singara and Bezabde (Cirze?). Constantius arrived from the west at this time, and unsuccessfully tried to recapture Bezabde. In 363 the Emperor Julian (361–363), at the head of a strong army, advanced to Shapur's capital at Ctesiphon and defeated a superior Sassanid army at the Battle of Ctesiphon; however, he was killed during his retreat back to Roman territory. His successor Jovian (363–364) made an ignominious peace, by which the districts beyond the Tigris which had been acquired in 298 were given to the Persians along with Nisibis and Singara, and the Romans promised to interfere no more in Armenia. The great success is represented in the rock-sculptures near the town Bishapur in Persis (Stolze, Persepolis, p. 141); under the hooves of the king's horse lies the body of an enemy, probably Julian, and a supplicant Roman, the Emperor Jovian, asks for peace.

Shapur II then invaded Armenia, where he took King Arshak II, the faithful ally of the Romans, prisoner by treachery and forced him to commit suicide. He then attempted to introduce Zoroastrian orthodoxy into Armenia. However, the Armenian nobles resisted him successfully, secretly supported by the Romans, who sent King Pap, the son of Arshak II, into Armenia. The war with Rome threatened to break out again, but Valens sacrificed Pap, arranging for his assassination in Tarsus, where he had taken refuge (374). Shapur II subdued the Kushans and took control of the entire area now known as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Shapur II had conducted great hosts of captives from the Roman territory into his dominions, most of whom were settled in Susiana. Here he rebuilt Susa, after having killed the city's rebellious inhabitants.

By his death in 379 the Persian Empire was stronger than ever before, considerably larger than when he came to the throne, the eastern and western enemies were pacified and Persia had gained control over Armenia.

Contributions[link]

Under Shapur II's reign the collection of the Avesta was completed, heresy and apostasy punished, and the Christians persecuted (see Abdecalas, Acepsimas of Hnaita). This was a reaction against the Christianization of the Roman Empire by Constantine I. He was successful in the east, and the great town Nishapur in Khorasan (eastern Parthia) was founded by him. He founded some other towns as well.

See also[link]

• Raba

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Paco de Lucía
Paco de Lucía in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gómez
Born	(1947-12-21) December 21, 1947 (age 64)
Origin	Algeciras, Andalusia Spain
Genres	Flamenco music, classical music, jazz
Occupations	Composer, Guitarist
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1958–present
Associated acts	Joaquín Rodrigo, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Larry Coryell, Paco de Lucía Sextet, Ricardo Modrego, Camaron de la Isla
Website	Paco de Lucía

Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gómez (in Algeciras, Cádiz on December 21, 1947), is a Spanish flamenco guitarist and composer. Author Dorien Ross claims in his book "Return to "A" that de Lucía is one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre.^[1][2] He is noted in particular for his dexterity, technique and strength in his right hand, capable of executing extremely fast and fluent picados.

He is a leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco style, and is one of the very few flamenco guitarists who has also successfully crossed over into other genres of music such as classical and jazz. He is the winner of the 2004 Prince of Asturias Awards in Arts and in 2010 was awarded an honorary doctorate by Berklee College of Music in Boston.^[3]

Biography[link]

Paco de Lucía was born Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gómez in Algeciras,^[4] a city in the province of Cádiz, at the southernmost tip of Spain directly in front of the Rock of Gibraltar. The youngest of the five children of flamenco guitarist Antonio Sánchez, and brother of flamenco singer Pepe de Lucía and flamenco guitarist Ramón de Algeciras. In the documentary Paco de Lucía-Light and Shade: A Portrait he tells how, when he was playing in the streets as a young boy, there were many Pacos and Pablos so in order to distinguish them people would add the name of the boy's mother. This is how he came to have the name Paco de Lucia. (Paco de Lucía album)|Luzia]] .^[5]

Paco de Lucía and Camarón de la Isla.

His father introduced him to the guitar at a very young age and was extremely strict in his upbringing, forcing him to practice up to 12 hours a day, every day.^[1] At one point his father took him out of school to concentrate solely on his guitar development. Combined with natural talent, he soon excelled and in 1958, at age 11, he made his first public appearance on Radio Algeciras. A year later he was awarded a special prize in the Jerez flamenco competition. In 1961, he toured with the flamenco troupe of dancer José Greco. In 1964, he met Madrileño guitarist Ricardo Modrego with whom he recorded three albums: Dos guitarras flamencas, Dos guitarras flamencas en stereo, and Doce canciones de Federico García Lorca para guitarra. Between 1968 and 1977, he enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with fellow New Flamenco cantaor (Flamenco singer) Camarón de la Isla. The two recorded 10 albums together.

De Lucía made a cameo appearance, dressed as a Mexican guitarist, in the 1971 western Hannie Caulder, playing the melody of Ken Thorne's main theme over a string section.

His 1976 album Almoraima was a success and featured notable tracks such as "Almoraima" and "Río Ancho", the latter track of which has been covered by other guitarists such as Al Di Meola. In 1979, de Lucía, John McLaughlin, and Larry Coryell formed The Guitar Trio and together made a brief tour of Europe and released a video recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall entitled Meeting of the Spirits. Coryell was later replaced by Al Di Meola, and since 1981, the trio has recorded three albums. De Lucía's own band, the Paco de Lucía Sextet (which includes his brothers Ramón and Pepe) released the first of its three albums that same year. He has released several albums encompassing both traditional and modern flamenco styles.

L to R: Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucía

In 1995, he recorded with Bryan Adams the hit song and video "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman" on the soundtrack for the movie Don Juan DeMarco. Through his wide discography he has advanced the technical and musical boundaries of his instrument. The University of Cadiz recognized de Lucía's musical and cultural contributions by conferring on him the title of Doctor Honoris Causa on March 23, 2007.

Until asked to perform and interpret Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez in 1991, de Lucía was not proficient at reading musical notation. As a flamenco guitarist, he claimed in Paco de Lucía-Light and Shade: A Portrait that he gave greater emphasis to rhythmical accuracy in his interpretation of the Concierto at the expense of the perfect tone preferred by classical guitarists. Joaquín Rodrigo has apparently said that the performance was "beautiful, exotic and inspired".^[6]

Lucía performing in 1983

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Dos guitarras flamencas en stereo (1964) with Ricardo Modrego
• 12 canciones de García Lorca para guitarra (1965) with Ricardo Modrego
• 12 éxitos para 2 guitarras flamencas (1965) with Ricardo Modrego
• La fabulosa guitarra de Paco de Lucía (1967)
• Canciones andaluzas para 2 guitarras (1967) with Ramón de Algeciras
• Dos guitarras flamencas en América Latina (1967) with Ramón de Algeciras
• Fantasía flamenca de Paco de Lucía (1969)
• Paco de Lucía y Ramón de Algeciras en Hispanoamérica (1969) with Ramón de Algeciras
• 12 Hits para 2 guitarras flamencas y orquesta de cuerda (1969) with Ramón de Algeciras
• El mundo del flamenco (1971)
• Recital de guitarra de Paco de Lucía (1971)
• El duende flamenco de Paco de Lucía (1972)
• Fuente y caudal (1973)
• Almoraima (1976)
• Interpreta a Manuel de Falla (1978)
• Castro Marín (1981) with Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin
• Sólo quiero caminar (1981) The Paco de Lucía Sextet
• Passion, Grace and Fire (1983) with Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin
• Siroco (1987)
• Zyryab (1990)
• Concierto de Aranjuez (1991)
• The Guitar Trio (1996) with Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin
• Luzia (1998)
• Cositas buenas (2004)

Live albums[link]

• En vivo desde el Teatro Real (1975)
• Friday Night in San Francisco (1981) with Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin
• Live... One Summer Night (1984) The Paco de Lucía Sextet
• Live recordings (1987) with George Dalaras
• Live in América (1993) The Paco de Lucía Sextet

Compilations[link]

• Entre dos aguas (1975)
• Antología (1995) - 2 cd
• Integral (2003) 26 CD Limited Edition Box Set
• Por Descubrir (2003)

Other contributions[link]

• Composed or contributed to the soundtracks for
  • La Sabina
  • The Hit by Stephen Frears
  • Flamenco, Flamenco (2011), Carmen and Sevillanas by Carlos Saura
  • Montoyas y Tarantos
  • Vicky Cristina Barcelona

• One song contributed to Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou Soundtrack (La Nina de Puerta Oscura) (2004)

• Elegant Gypsy by Al Di Meola (1977) - de Lucía plays a duet with Di Meola on the track "Mediterranean Sundance".

• Shpongle sampled his track "Introduccion y Pantomima" in their song "Around the World in a Tea Daze" from the album Tales of the Inexpressible.

References[link]

External links[link]

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